The College has Mackillop House, because the first Assistant Principal, Sr Maria Casey, was a Josephite sister. Sr Maria was instrumental in the process of creating Australia's first saint.

Some background to the Mackillop story is below:

In 2010, Mary Mackillop became the first ever Australian to be formally acknowledged as a saint. A life that reveals the extraordinary in the ordinary.

She was born in Melbourne in 1842 and died on the 8 August 1909. Her family experienced painful economic and social change. Their poverty resulted in Mary’s early maturity. She gave emotional and financial support to her family and learned what it meant to be responsible for those too young and helpless to care for themselves. She received a sacred calling: to be with the poor and to work for their spiritual and social wholeness. The spirit of St Joseph inspired her.

She walked the way of the Cross through her harsh interactions with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church of the time. She was rejected and abandoned by the Church authorities and she grew spiritually and became a woman wrapped in God.

Her Sisters of St Joseph struggled for survival and she worked tirelessly to have them recognised and accepted. 

Saint Mary MacKillop’s life teaches us never to give up…to keep walking….to refocus on Christ who is our compass. 

She was courageous, compassionate, and responsible. Her last words were “GO ON”.

This is a heritage for us at Mount Carmel. To go on no matter how hard anything is in our lives and we are so privileged to have our house named after her.

“Love is the one thing that we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” Fr. James Arblaster began his keynote presentation with these insights from the Scientist, Brand, of Interstellar. The movie captures the essence of space and its accompanied complexities, yet Fr. James eloquently related its religious symbolism as a beautiful way of interpreting God – as unconditional love itself. That God was beyond a dimension that humans cannot fathom, yet, “maybe [love] means something more- something we can’t yet understand…a higher dimension that we can’t consciously perceive,” (Interstellar). This was a ‘lightbulb’ moment, the highlight of the day, that brought so much more curiosity into the sacred mysteries of Catholicism and much more meaning into the Liturgical Ministry Training endeavoured. After this insightful beginning of the day, year 10 and 11 students from Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Wollongong split off into the following liturgical roles: Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Readers of the Word, and Musical Cantors. In the Cathedral, the soon-to-be E.M.H.C’s went behind the scenes with Fr. James discussing lightheartedly, the what-to-do’s, the worst-case scenarios and the use of each sacred vessel. The denouement of the day was the coming together of an Instructional ‘slow’ mass: a celebration of the feast day of Sts John Fisher (bishop), and Thomas More, both martyrs. The recessional hymn, Be God’s by Danielle Rose, in particular a lyric really aligned with the day: “With God’s love change the world with your life.” Training to become Extraordinary Minister was a way for me to deepening my faith, and sharing my time to become an active participant in the Church community – a way to spread God’s love. In manifesting this sense of presence, I took away from the experience, a newfound ‘calling to serve.’ 

Lots of love and light, from Sabina Celiz, on behalf of the new Liturgical ministers (Lexie Garcia, Alex Dutfield, James Turingan)

Religious Life Around the College

Year 12 Meeting with the Bishop